Colin Kaepernick And Nike Announce New Apparel Collection

Colin Kaepernick and Nike are expanding on their partnership via a collaboration with British mixed media artist Joy Yamusangie. According to Sports Illustrated, Kaepernick’s collection, billed by the apparel giant as one built on hope and change, currently includes a hoodie and a T-shirt. Both items feature designs that tell the story of the NFL quarterback turned activist and author. 

On Kaepernick’s website, a video announcing the collaboration, voiced by Yamusangie is featured, just above a trailer for Kaepernick’s latest venture, an arcade-style football game called Wild Card Football. The video features Kaepernick in various poses as Yamusangie describes what drew her to the collaboration as well as what inspired her design choices.

Yamusangie says, “It was easy to draw inspiration for the designs for the collection, we blended our different approaches and our visions. Through each of the illustrations, I look to capture the core themes of Colin’s work and life. Each drawing represents hope, ambition, and aspiration.” 

Kaepernick has been busy during his post-NFL life, even though he is still very much interested in attempting to return to the league when he sees an opportunity. Following an Achilles injury to the New York Jets future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Kaepernick penned a letter to the Jets GM Joe Douglass asking for a chance on the team’s practice squad. Rapper J. Cole, who is a friend of Kaepernick, shared the letter via Instagram on Sept. 26. The letter spells out Kaepernick’s belief that he can still help a team, even as an older quarterback.

“Worst case scenario, you see what I have to offer, and you’re not that impressed,” Kaepernick wrote. “Best case scenario, you realize you have a real weapon at your disposal in the event you ever need to use it. In either of these scenarios, I would be committed to getting your defense ready week in and week out, all season long, and I would wear that responsibility like a badge of honor.”

Kaepernick created a publishing house, called Kaepernick Publishing in 2019, which he uses to publish books related to the struggle for Civil Rights in America led by Black and other people of color. His most recent project, titled Our History Has Always Been Contraband: In Defense of Black Studies, was co-published by Haymarket Books and is a response to the current movement to delegitimize the field of African-American or Black Studies, led by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

According to co-editor Robin D.G. Kelley, “We are not surprised that fascists want to ban our work. Black studies was born of resistance and grew up in a state of fugitivity as a critique of a world that built counterfeit democracies on slavery, dispossession, colonialism, racism, and violence. And we remain, seeking hard truths, refusing indoctrination, and creating knowledge intended to free us all.”

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